by Frank Schroth
The Board of Selectmen received a final presentation and report from Joe Lynch, Director of Public Works, on the research and findings of analysis of water and sewer rates. Upon hearing the report and having some discussion the Board voted unanimously on rates for FY15 that represent a very modest increase over those currently set.
Mr. Lynch was joined by Toby Federer of Woodard & Curran who assisted in the data collection and analysis. The principal issue was establishing parity between homeowners and residents in multi-unit buildings. Residents at 88 Wharf Street in particular had been vocal in expressing their belief that they were overpaying as they were individually billed at a rate that was determined by the sum use of all the units (i.e. Tier 4). Most homeowners are in tier 2. The tier 2 rate is $6.27 for water and $11.06 for sewer per hundred cubic foot used. Tier 4 users pay $7.34 and $12.99. Tier 2 users use 601-3000 CF per quarter, tier 4 use 6000+. In other words, the more you use the higher the rate you pay. But 88 Wharf argued that individually the residents did not use the amount that warrants a tier 4 rate and should be billed at a lower tier.
Lynch and Federer recommended that the Selectmen look at a rate adjustment for multi-unit dwellings in Milton with more than 5 units. There are less than 10 of these in Milton. The bills will be manually calculated taking the sum of the usage and dividing it by the number of units and then adding a 1/2 adjustment to factor in that some residents are gone for periods of time during the year (e.g. winter in Florida).
IT is a difficult to summarize. The net of it is that the 1/2 adjustment proposed will provide equity for all residents. Because the funds collected from the rates need to meet a certain amount, any discount to one tier requires a corresponding increase to another. The Selectmen adopted the revised rate structure and then voted unanimously on the rates for FY15. These rates will have an increase of 0.3% for water across all tiers and 4.3% increase for sewer across all tiers.
WATER
| WATER | Current Rate | FY15 rate |
| Tier 1 | 5.18 | 5.2 |
| Tier 2 | 6.27 | 6.29 |
| Tier 3 | 6.91 | 6.93 |
| Tier 4 | 7.34 | 7.36 |
SEWER
| SEWER | Current Rate | FY15 rate |
| Tier 1 | 5.86 | 6.11 |
| Tier 2 | 11.06 | 11.53 |
| Tier 3 | 12.18 | 12.7 |
| Tier 4 | 12.99 | 13.55 |
Here we go again !
Why the increase?
Please explain why there is a need for any increase in the water and the sewer bills?
Is this to pay for the accruing debt or for additional water and sewer infrastructures?
Also, what happened to the alleged scofflaws who have not paid their water or sewer bills for more than a decade?
The DPW and the Selectmen owe the town the duty to explain the reason for the water and sewer “Tax” increase and where the town stands in collecting back moneys due from those individuals and institutions who are alleged scofflaws.
Just think, if former governor Michael Stanley Dukakis had in the early 1980s filed under the Federal Clean Water Act for the clean-up of Boston Harbor in the ninety percent of that clean up of that national waterway – Boston Harbor – would have been paid by the federal government. If he had done that we in Milton and the other MWRA cities and towns would not be burdened by these onerous water and sewer bills but Dukakis was too busy running for president to pay attention to his responsibilities as governor. Today, we are paying dearly for his failure.